BENGALURU: The Equal Hue Cricket Excellence Programme (EHCEP) is a holistic athlete support programme conceptualised to aid and empower young women from across the country aspiring to make professional careers in cricket and transform the sport into a vehicle for social, cultural, and economic change for women in India. The programme will be implemented by GoSports Foundation, with FDC Limited and Brigade Foundation coming aboard as the Launch Partner and Associate Partner to the programme, respectively.
The programme’s design is based on the learnings from the Equal Hue cricket survey and report, authored by Snehal Pradhan, former India pacer turned cricket commentator, and now Manager – Women’s Cricket at the ICC; alongside Karunya Keshav, and the late Sidhanta Patnaik, co-authors of the book ‘The Fire Burns Blue’ – A history of women’s cricket in India. The report comprehensively analyses the Indian women’s cricket ecosystem and offers suggestions on making tangible improvements to the same.
The programme offers a comprehensive range of support services to its carefully chosen cohort of beneficiaries, including training and development, mentorship, legal support for commercial engagements, advice on media management and public relations, career guidance, knowledge- building workshops and seminars, and on-ground research.
During the last six months, GoSports Foundation has carried out its comprehensive five-step selection process, worked with observers in the women’s cricket ecosystem, identified the cohort of athletes to be supported under the programme, and facilitated an interaction event to understand the detailed sporting needs of the selected athletes.
Over the course of a two-day event in Mumbai, the 15 selected athletes were formally announced and inducted, followed by interactions and sessions curated for the athletes by some of the experts who have worked closely with the Foundation over the years – John Gloster, Director of Sports Science – GoSports Foundation; Sharda Ugra, senior journalist who has covered a wide range of Indian sports; and Krushmi Chheda, official nutritionist of the Rajasthan Royals. Shriyanka Sadangi, International sports shooter supported by GoSports Foundation since 2017, spoke about her sporting journey with the Foundation, and Deepthi Bopaiah, CEO – GoSports Foundation addressed the athletes as well. Physical assessments were also conducted for the athletes by experts.
The 15 players shortlisted are between the ages of 16 and 23 and will receive holistic support over the next year.
The first batch of players includes:
Shweta Sehrawat, right-handed batter from Delhi
Titas Sadhu, right arm pacer from West Bengal
Falak Naz, right arm pacer from Uttar Pradesh
Soniya Mendhiya, right-handed all-rounder from Haryana
Ishwari Sawkar, right-handed batter from Maharashtra
Mithila Vinod, right-handed all-rounder from Karnataka
Nandini Kashyap, wicket-keeper and right-handed batter from Uttarakhand Darsana Mohanan, right arm off spinner from Kerala
Pragati Singh, right-handed batter from Punjab
Maya Sonawane, right arm leg spinner from Maharashtra
Sanika Chalke, left-handed batter from Mumbai
Tanmayee Behera, left-handed batter from Odisha
Kashvee Gautam, right-handed all-rounder from Chandigarh
Pooja Raj, left-handed all-rounder from Uttarakhand
Kanishka Thakur, left-handed batter from Madhya Pradesh
Speaking about the initiative, Deepthi Bopaiah, CEO of GoSports Foundation, said: “The Equal Hue Cricket Excellence Programme is a very important programme for us. Cricket is a sport that is deeply engrained in our nation’s fabric, and we are excited at the opportunity to contribute to the journeys of India’s next generation of female cricketers while aligning the programme’s objectives with Goal 5 – Gender Equality of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We would like to thank Brigade Foundation and FDC Limited for demonstrating their faith in the tenets of the programme and are confident that the support provided by the programme will enable these talented athletes become not only elite cricketers, but also national role models who can help create a more inclusive sporting ecosystem for women in India.”
The programme reiterates the commitment of GoSports Foundation, FDC Limited, and the Brigade Group, to promote sports and support emerging athletes in India. With initiatives like EHCEP, they are creating a talent pathway for young athletes to succeed in the highly competitive world of professional sports and bring laurels to India.
